This is the WFHB Local News for Monday, August 26th, 2024.

Later in the program, Monroe County has issued an excessive heat watch for Tuesday. Cooling stations will be available throughout the county over the next few days. More in today’s headlines.

Eric Weigold, a volunteer for Habitat for Humanity. Monroe County Habitat is working to build sixty-nine new homes on the south side of town, one of our community’s largest affordable housing projects. Hear more later in the show on a new episode of Activate!

But first, your daily headlines:

Monroe County has issued an excessive heat watch for Tuesday.

This week, residents will experience hot weather conditions, with temperatures in the low to mid 90s. According to the Monroe County Emergency Management Agency, temperatures and humidity will increase on Tuesday. The heat index could rise above 100 and possibly even 110 in some areas.

Then, thunderstorm chances are expected to increase on Tuesday and continue through the week. Monroe County Emergency Management says that “Thursday and Friday have the highest chance of thunderstorms as of this time.”

Over the next 30 years, average temperatures are projected to rise about 5 to 6 degrees Fahrenheit, according to Indiana University’s Environmental Resilience Institute.

Shawn Miya, assistant director of sustainability for the city of Bloomington, emphasized that the rise in heat waves we’re seeing is a result of climate change.

Due to the excessive heat watch, Monroe County will offer eight locations as cooling stations. Cooling stations will be open August 27th and 28th from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. A list of cooling stations are available below:

Last week, the City of Bloomington cleared out an encampment along the Rail Trail.

This marks the fourth eviction of encampments under the leadership of Mayor Kerry Thomson.

In a news conference earlier this month, Thomson said the rail trail encampment closure was delayed due to service providers saying they were understaffed with case workers.

The news conference coincided with a 21-page report detailing a new housing action plan. This comes after an increase of street homelessness in recent years.

The action plan took place based on a survey conducted by the South Central Housing Network. The survey found at least 117 people in Monroe County are sleeping outside.

It should be noted, however, that this is likely an undercount since the survey didn’t include people who wouldn’t participate in the survey or could not be found. According to Monroe County’s point-in-time, or PIT, count, 29 people were reported unsheltered in 2019.

Mayor Thomson said the action plan was organized after the eviction of an encampment in May of this year.

The recent closure of the encampment at the Rail Trail happened on the same day the city released a draft of its 2025 budget. Included in the budget is a job position for a homelessness coordinator who would be working under the mayor’s office.

Bloomington City Council

The Bloomington City Council met on Wednesday, August 21st. Council Members deliberated on a resolution that would approve “the insurance of refunding bonds” in an amount up to 30 million dollars to refinance 2015 tax increment financing revenue bonds.

City Attorney Larry Allen expanded on the legislation, saying that the issuance of bonds could save the redevelopment commission a significant amount of money.

He said the savings could add up to more than a million dollars in interest.

City Controller Jessica McClellan said that the 2015 tax increment revenue bonds helped pay for the construction of Switchyard Park and the development of the Trades District, among other city projects.

Council Member Matt Flaherty added a final comment before voting on the resolution saying that he’s looking for more clarity on the policy.

Council Member Dave Rollo said he wants to make sure the city’s capital investments are equally distributed.

The council voted 7-0 in support of the resolution. The Bloomington City Council will hold Departmental Budget hearings through the upcoming week, and will resume its regular session on September 4th.

Feature Report:

Up next, local journalist Dave Askins of the B Square Bulletin has his weekly editorial on the WFHB Local News. We turn to Askins for more.

Working from home can get a little lonely. Eric Weigold has found a way to connect with others and make a difference in our community. His employer, Bloom Insurance, has a volunteer engagement program that helps their staff do good things in service to others. One of their biggest partnerships is with Habitat for Humanity. Monroe County Habitat is currently working on building an entire neighborhood of affordable homes – the Osage Place project on the southwest side of Bloomington. Eric is hoping you’ll want to pick up a hammer after you hear his episode of Activate!, coming your way right now on the WFHB Local News.

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